The Feminine Hero of Peace
by Balin Lord of Moria
Summary: Flash fiction about how a female fighting Hero fights differently than a male one would. A slightly feminist story; if you prefer masculinity, you won't get it here. Takes place in Spielburg.


_**The Feminine Hero of Peace**_

* * *

She strode through the forest, confident in her ability to take care of herself. Every once in a while, she would hear a suspicious sound, like hostile forces or a monster of some sort was nearby, but her courage was stronger than her fear. Whatever came her way as she wandered through the land of Spielburg, she was ready to face it.

Her name was Meredith. She was a fighter, an adventurer seeking to become a Hero. It was well known that most fighters in Spielburg and the surrounding lands were men, but Meredith was a notable exception. Like the male fighter, Meredith believed in testing her strength and courage against the world. Her body was athletic and well toned for battle, and her daily exercising had seen to it that she stayed in that tip-top shape.

Presently, she was walking through the lands near Spielburg Town, hoping to find an opportunity to become a Hero in a valiant way. However, being a woman, Meredith did not fight with brute force alone. She was good with a sword and a shield, but she preferred to use skill as well as muscle, finding clever and intelligent ways to take down her foes. There were other things that she did as a female fighter, too, which she was about to demonstrate in a few moments.

Suddenly, a group of minotaurs came out of one dark part of the forest and challenged her to a fight. She had actually expecting creatures like these to appear sooner or later, because the minotaurs had been troubling the travelers in Spielburg Valley for quite some time.

Meredith drew her sword. The minotaurs did not wait for her to be entirely ready and one of them charged. Its horns clanged against her shield, but she pushed it back with said shield. The battle was on. Meredith fought off the big beasts as they beat her with their fists, kicked her with their feet, and attempted to pierce her with their horns. Some people thought that women couldn't bear this kind of pain the same way a man could, but Meredith was proof that they were wrong. She endured it for the entire battle.

It must be said here that unlike some of the more glory-loving fighters, Meredith did not revel in killing the enemy or claiming a bloody victory. She would rather fight them as much as necessary and then think of a way to defeat them without violence. So after taking down three of the minotaurs, the leader charged her with the intent to kill on instant. She dodged the attack and struck him in the heart when he turned around to attack again, killing him.

Meredith turned toward the other beasts, and could see that she had earned their respect. This gave her time to perceive that these minotaurs were not evil creatures. Though she didn't have the same intuition a magic user or a wizard would have, she had studied the language and mannerisms of a minotaur, and these minotaurs were merely striking back at the human citizens of Spielburg wandering too close to their own territory. Meredith told them that she shared their respect for the rest or her life, and swore that she would peacefully make the people of Spielburg Town stop trespassing on their home ground, in return for the minotaurs ceasing their invasions on the innocent folks who mistakingly walked too close to it.

The minotaurs bowed to her, and she bowed back, sealing the peace negotiation. Then they left, presumably to go home, while Meredith eventually returned to Spielburg Castle and told her story to the von Spielburg family that ruled the land. Later, there was a ceremony held on the castle grounds, and a crowd of people cheered for Meredith as she was awarded the honor of "Hero of Spielburg."

Her honor was not as high as that of some of the more legendary Heroes, like Devon Aidendale, for example, but that mattered little to her. What mattered to her was that she was a Hero of any rank, and that she had done her duty as a woman in the armor of a fighter: do not kill all your foes unless you truly have to, and end a battle peacefully after you've done enough killing, letting the surviving foes go their own way.


End file.
